Chapter 27: The Grand Jewelry Store! An Unexpected Crisis!

Chapter 27: The Large Jewelry Store! An Unexpected Crisis!

The sky gradually darkened.

Lu Feng had his cousin drop him off at the Ruoya Cosmetics and Beauty Salon in the North District, a shop that combined makeup and skincare services. Yang Qingxue worked there; she had basically mastered makeup and was now learning skincare. Sometimes, the two went hand-in-hand, as many women would treat themselves to a makeup session after a beauty treatment.

When Yang Ming arrived with Lu Feng, she was already waiting. She had changed into a new outfit after returning to her dormitory, clearly dressed up specifically for their date. She wore a white shirt, a knee-length skirt, and pantyhose—an ensemble similar to an office lady's attire.

Lu Feng’s gaze grew intense, scanning Yang Qingxue’s body without restraint, his eyes seemingly trying to pierce through her clothing. Yang Qingxue rolled her eyes at him, then sat beside him with a hint of pride. A woman would usually be repulsed by such a lecherous, burning gaze from a man, but when it came to her boyfriend, it was different—she actually wished his gaze were even more brazen.

"Xiao Feng, should I drop you off first?" Yang Ming asked as he started the car.

Lu Feng nodded. "Yeah, I worked up a sweat roasting tea. I need to go back, take a shower, and change."

Back at the apartment, Yang Qingxue didn’t show any disdain for the small, cluttered space. Instead, she began looking through the kitchen and refrigerator. "Lu Feng, let’s just cook something at home. No point in wasting money eating out." She knew her boyfriend was working hard; a meal out would cost nearly two hundred, but she could make them both full for just a few dozen.

Lu Feng took out a change of clothes and smiled knowingly. Yang Qingxue would definitely make a virtuous wife one day. Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, he heard her complaining, "Lu Feng, why is your place so empty? There are only a few eggs and some noodles. I’ll make you some noodles then!"

... (Content omitted due to review requirements) ...

By noon the next day, Lu Feng and Yang Qingxue were awakened by a continuous ringing of a mobile phone. It was Yang Qingxue’s. She answered groggily, then hurriedly got up and headed to the bathroom. "Lu Feng, I have to go back to the dorm. Jiajia is crying so hard; she completely broke up with Chi Cheng. She caught him on an intimate date with two other women just now."

"Huh!" Lu Feng hadn't expected more drama involving Lin Jiajia. However, he realized that Xiao Yao splashing that drink on Chi Cheng hadn't been an injustice after all. The guy really was a scumbag. For some reason, he felt a bit of schadenfreude; after all, the man had been trying to set Yang Qingxue up with that Chen Yong fellow, and as a man, he wasn't generous enough to let that slide. But since Yang Qingxue cared so much for her best friend, he could only suppress his laughter and follow her into the bathroom to comfort her.

... (Omitted) ...

Once dressed, Lu Feng dropped Yang Qingxue off at her dorm, visited his mother at the hospital, and then bought a large bag of bread and bottled water before returning to his apartment. After locking the door, he entered the game with a single thought in mind. Last night, Lin Jiao and Xu Bin had mentioned finding a large jewelry store with plenty of gold, and he intended to bring those items out.

Seeing Lu Feng appear, Lin Jiao and Xu Bin walked over. They were already accustomed to their mysterious boss appearing out of thin air—after all, he was an "ability user." What attracted them more was the food he had brought. Lu Feng placed the bag on the tea table and asked, "Tell me about that jewelry store."

Lin Jiao picked up a bottle of water and some bread, eating as she explained, "The store is on the 6th floor. It’s quite spacious, larger than this Qingfeng Tea Shop. It’s just too close to the ground floor, so there are zombies that need to be cleared."

Lu Feng nodded. He had seen the dense swarms of zombies at the base of the building. With the apocalypse unfolding, everyone in the high-rise had tried to flee, and combined with the noise from their earlier fight with the mutated beast, all the surrounding zombies had been drawn there.

Once Lin Jiao and Xu Bin had finished eating, Lu Feng said, "Let's go take a look." He picked up the steel sword he had left in the tea shop, put on his military camouflage jacket and gloves, but opted for no further protection. Firstly, it would hinder his movement. Secondly, he didn't want to appear cowardly in front of his two employees. Thirdly, through several skirmishes, he had gained a rough understanding of the zombies' strength; as long as he had enough stamina and wasn't swarmed, they were manageable. Finally, with his two employees leading the way, he could just pick off the stragglers—only a fool would charge into the front lines.

Xu Bin hefted his large axe and took the lead. His physique and strength made him perfect as the vanguard. Lin Jiao brought up the rear, protecting their boss from both directions. She held a sharpened iron pipe; it was long enough to pierce a zombie’s skull with ease.

The trio quickly reached the next floor. Passing the stairwell, they moved swiftly; the ground was littered with zombies that Xu Bin and Lin Jiao had clearly cleared earlier. The same held true for the next few floors. When they reached the 8th floor, Xu Bin headed toward the stairwell but quickly retreated, whispering, "Boss, we have to fight. There's a lot of them!"

Lu Feng peeked out and saw a dense crowd of zombies clogging the stairwell. He immediately pulled back. Stairwells were poor places to fight. Lin Jiao approached the opening and tapped the wall lightly. The sound wasn't loud, but just enough for the zombies at the entrance to hear. They turned toward her and rushed forward. Lin Jiao immediately retreated upward, drawing a portion of the zombies with her. As she passed the upper landing, a large axe swung out, cleaving through the zombies behind her. Three heads fell at once—a testament to Xu Bin's immense strength.

Lin Jiao then joined the fray, her steel spike accurately piercing a zombie's skull. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect; the two were clearly veterans at dealing with zombies. Lu Feng immediately grasped their tactic—luring and kiting. It was just like in a game; if there were too many monsters to handle at once, you lure them in small batches. He took the opportunity to land finishing blows between their attacks, snatching some kills for himself. After all, kills meant experience, and leveling up was always to his benefit.

[Congratulations, you have killed a zombie. Gained 5 EXP!]
...
[Congratulations, you have killed a zombie. Gained 5 EXP!]

With one wave cleared, Lin Jiao went down to lure the next. Using this method, they cleared all the zombies at the 7th-floor entrance. The 6th-floor entrance was also packed. The trio used the same strategy to slowly whittle down the numbers. Naturally, Lin Jiao and Xu Bin were gasping for air by the end; their stamina had its limits. This was exactly why they feared being swarmed—once stamina ran out, it was game over. Survivors feared exhaustion most of all, for without food to replenish energy, death was never far away.

Lu Feng had managed to land a good number of kills—over twenty. Checking his character attribute panel, his experience had reached LV3: 265/400.

Lin Jiao sat on the floor, downing a bottle of water. "Boss, the jewelry store is right around the corner. The surrounding zombies are cleared; you can take a look."

"Good!" Lu Feng nodded, surprised by how smoothly it had gone. With the area clear, he turned the corner and saw the store. It was indeed larger than the Qingfeng Tea Shop. Gold jewelry filled the display cases, but this was a large, comprehensive store; beyond gold, there were clearly silver, watches, and handbags on display.

Just as Lu Feng reached for the door to enter, a piercing sound suddenly rang out.

*Bang!*

The next moment, every zombie in the entire department store became agitated!